


the sands remember us

by snapdragonpop007



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ancient Egypt, Declarations Of Love, I'm making some Pyamid of Light refrences, I'm sure theres tags I'm missing, Immortality, It's My FanFiction and I Choose My Refrences, M/M, Mild Gore, Past Lives, Reincarnation, Temporary Character Death, The Mummy AU, but that's okay, i accidently gave Yami some season zero vibes, in that I combined all three movies and gave you one big giant mess, no beta we die like men, so I'll add as I go, which I'm not sure anyone actually remembers but so be it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:02:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23901268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snapdragonpop007/pseuds/snapdragonpop007
Summary: Yugi has found the Lost Tomb of Anubis, something that has only ever been heard of in legends. Scholars have been desperately trying to prove it's existence for years, and Yugi has found it with the help of his childhood friend and a traveler who has never stopped moving until now.Yugi has also set off a curse, along with memories of a life and a death he had lived through thousands of years ago.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Jouno/Priest Seto, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi
Comments: 15
Kudos: 82





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know a mummy au has been done before because I've read it, but my sister wanted me to write one and since I have nothing else to do here we are. 
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr @snap-dragon-pop

Yugi sighed softly, thumbing the spine of the book before putting it back on the cart. 

He was tired. He hadn’t been sleeping well these last few weeks, and he knew it was because of strange dreams and nightmares, but he could never remember what he dreamed. He only knew they frightened him because every time he woke his heart was racing and he could never get enough air in his lungs and he tasted the ghost of copper every time he swallowed.

Yugi picked the book back up again, tucking it into the crook of his arm. He stacked a few more on top of that, then wrapped his fingers around the rung of the shelf ladder and hoisted himself up. 

It probably wasn’t in his best interest to be climbing the library ladders when he was this tired, but Yugi was nothing if not stubborn. That still didn’t mean his decision wasn’t a bad one, and it became evident when his fingers lost their grip and he slipped. Yugi yelped and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the impact of the hard tiled floor. The books he was holding hit the ground first, but he never did. 

“Ya should be more careful.” 

Yugi cracked open his eyes. 

Joey had caught him.

“I have never been careful a day in my life.” Yugi smiled, patted Joey’s shoulder, and squirmed out of his hold. He took a moment to readjust his shirt, then swooped down to pick up the books he had dropped.

Joey laughed, plucking the books from Yugi’s arms after he had gathered them all up again. He shouted in protest and tried to get them back, but Joey was far too tall for Yugi to be able to grab the books back. 

“Ya look dead on your feet, Yug.” Joey grabbed the ladder Yugi had just fallen off of and put a foot up on the bottom rug. “Prolly shouldn’t be climbin’ ladders.”

Yugi huffed and crossed his arms, blowing a stray strand of hair out of his face. “I’ll climb ladders if I want to.” 

“And you’ll gimme a heart attack in the process.” Joey gave him a bright smile, and Yugi slapped his arm. 

The library doors opened, and both Joey and Yugi turned to look as Seto poked his head in. He was the museum curator, and while he technically didn’t have anything to do with the library specifically, he stopped in often. Yugi was sure he did it just to be around Joey, and Joey was sure he did it to bug the shit out of him.

“Are you alright? I heard something fall.” Seto fully walked in. He was wearing a full three piece that was a rich black in color, and Yugi never understood how Seto could handle the Cairo heat in it. Yugi struggled just with the khakis and button up he wore. Seto’s eyes drifted from Yugi to Joey as Yugi explained his earlier fall. “Wheeler.”

“Kaiba.” Joey frowned, then hiked his way up the ladder. 

Joey also technically didn’t have anything to do with the library. He technically didn’t have anything to do with the museum at all, except for the temporary job he was currently working. He worked odd jobs here and there, and Yugi had managed to sweet talk Seto enough to let Joey help him out in the library and collection room until he could get a permanent job somewhere else. Yugi was sure it helped that Seto had been festering an infatuation with Joey ever since Yugi first introduced them, and the longer this went on the more Yugi was starting to think this _would_ be Joey’s permanent job. 

“Do you even know how to catalog those?” Seto crossed his arms and watched Joey slide a book into place. 

“Absolutely not.” Joey shot back, shoving the next book back into place with a bit more force than necessary. “I just guess.” 

Yugi bit back a laugh, which turned into a gasp as Joey then slipped off the ladder. 

Seto lurched forward while Yugi jumped back, catching Joey just before he hit the ground. They both went tumbling to the floor from the momentum of the fall, Joey dropping the books and clinging to Seto while Seto held him just as tightly. Yugi watched with wide eyes, then rushed forward as they finally hit the ground in a heap of limbs and curses. 

“Are you guys okay?” 

Joey didn’t say anything, but Seto huffed and grumbled “I think you should both stay off of ladders for the day.” 

“Oh, shut up.” Joey scowled and pushed himself off Seto. 

Seto looked almost reluctant to let him go. 

“We’ll get this cleaned up and head out.” Yugi offered a hand to help Seto up while Joey scrambled to his feet. Not that there was much to clean up—just the books that Joey had dropped. 

Seto looked at both of them for a moment, his eyes trailing down Joey’s form before he focused his attention on Yugi. “Chamomile tea will help you sleep.” 

He spared one last glance at Joey, then left. 

Joey frowned, propping his arm on the top of Yugi’s head. “Ya didn’t tell him ya were havin’ trouble sleeping, did ya?”

“No.” Yugi tried to shove Joey off, but he didn’t budge. 

“He’s a weird guy.” Joey mumbled. Then he shook his head and pushed himself off Yugi, rooting around in his pocket. Yugi looked at him curiously, and it only grew when Joey finally pulled out whatever he had been looking for. It was a little black box with a rounded top. “Here, I found this in the back room. Though’ ya might be interested.” 

Yugi gently took it, worried for it’s fragility for a moment. It was much heavier than he expected, and much more sturdy. “What is it?”

Despite studying egyptian history for most of his life, Yugi had never actually been able to get out on an actual dig, and so any little thing Joey brought him from the collection wearhouse Yugi treasured. 

“A puzzle box, I think.” Joey shrugged, then walked off to pick up the books that were still lying on the ground. 

Yugi himself wandered towards one of the many tables placed at the end of the shelves, ignoring the chairs in favor of sitting on the wooden table top itself. It took a hop to get up there, but once he settled in he held the box under the desk lamp. It looked like it was made out of onyx, and even though it had been in Joey’s pocket it was still cool to the touch. Yugi dragged his finger along the curved top, jumping as it sprang open. 

Joey breezed past him with an armful of books, pausing just long enough to spare him a glance. “Did ‘cha figure it out already?”

“I—“ Yugi paused, setting the box down as he dug out the slip of parchment that had been stuffed inside. He unfolded it gently, stared at it, then picked back up the box and shoved it under the lamp again. He could see the faint etchings of hieroglyphs, but they were so shallow and worn down that he couldn’t make them out. “Joey, I need one of your cigarettes.” 

There was a very loud thud, but Yugi didn’t look up to see if Joey had dropped a book or just pushed it back into place harder than intended. 

“What?”

“I know you keep a pack on you.” Yugi huffed. He tried tilting the box further, but the glare of the light made the hieroglyphs go from nearly impossible to make out to completely impossible, so Yugi set it down and slipped the rubber band off his wrist to tie his hair back, tired of it being in his face.

There was a moment of silence as Yugi worked, and then Joey was pushing a cigarette close enough to his nose that he could smell the rolled up tobacco.

“I need your matchbook too.” Yugi took it, picked up the puzzle box again, then held out his hand as he looked up at Joey.

“Ya gonna smoke it?” Joey asked, handing over the matchbook.

“No, you are.” At Joey’s surprised look, Yugi continued. “Just enough that I can smear the ash on the box—I need it to read the hieroglyphs on the side.” 

“You wan’ me to smoke a cigarette in a _library_?” Joey watched as Yugi set the box and cigarette in his lap, and after a few failed attempts to light the match Joey took it from him and did it for him. 

“Yes.” Yugi held out the cigarette so Joey could light it, then handed it off to him. “Please? Otherwise I can’t read the hieroglyphs.” 

Joey blinked, shook his head, then took the cigarette and put it against his lips. He took a long drag, handing it back to Yugi as he breathed out the smoke. Joey didn’t smoke often, but it was one of those guilty little pleasures from his gang days that stuck with him. 

Yugi wrinkled his nose at the smell, then very unceremoniously smushed it against the box and smeared it around until he was out of ash. He passed the cigarette back off to Joey as he blew off the extra, holding it back under the lamp as he read the hieroglyphics and mouthed the ancient egyptian words. 

“Joey—“ Yugi’s eyes went wide. He reached out a hand to smack Joey, ignoring his startled yelp as he hit him harder than intended. “—Joey, this is a map to the Lost Tomb of Anubis.” 

“The what?”

“The Lost Tomb of Anubis.” Yugi dropped the box, then picked up the map again and all but shoved it in Joey’s face. “This is—if this is real—“ 

Joey frowned, gently taking the map from Yugi to get a better look at it. “Why wouldn’t it be real?” 

“Well, it’s—the Tomb of Anubis is a legend. It’s not really history.” Yugi hopped off the desk, shoving the puzzle box at Joey as he drifted to the shelves, There was a book that had the story in it that Yugi remembered reading. 

“Anubis as in death god Anubis?” Joey’s voice was close, so Yugi assumed that he had followed him.

“No. Anubis as in Priest Anubis. He served under the Pharaoh Atem—I thought I told you this before?” Yugi turned around to look at Joey, who shrugged. Yugi groaned and went back to looking for the book. “They were real people, but the story of Anubis and Atem got lost to history. People tried to fill in the gaps—“ Yugi let out a little aha when his fingers danced along the spin of the book he wanted. “—most of it is bullshit—embellished for tourists.” 

Yugi plopped the book town on the nearest table, flipping through the pages until he found the legend of Anubis’ tomb. “No one knows anything about it except that they were real people, but the story goes that Anubis fell in love with the Pharaoh’s partner--Egypt’s prince--and so Anubis killed him and tried to bring him back using the book of the dead. That way when the prince woke again he would love Anubis, not Atem. Anubis was sentenced to death and cursed—he underwent the Hom-Dai--"

"The _what_?" Joey interrupted.

"He was mummified alive." Yugi answered. Joey sucked in a sharp breath, but Yugi ignored it and continued. "He underwent the Hom-Dai for the murder and the location of his tomb was hidden so no one could find it and break the curse.” Yugi took a breath. “It’s just a romantic story for the tourists. Non of it has actually been proven, but Anubis was--well, it’s not totally confirmed that he was a living person but everyone’s pretty sure he was real.” 

“You’re gettin’ awful excited over a possibly fake dead guy, Yug.” Joey was still smoking the cigarette. Yugi snatched it from him and put it out on the desk. “Hey—!” 

“Joey, this is important.” Yugi huffed, then took the map from Joey too. “If this map is real, we can solve one of Egypt’s biggest mysteries!” 

“ _We?”_ Joey frowned, leaning his hip against the table as he crossed his arms. “This sounds more like _you_ thing than a _we_ thing.” 

“Yes, _we_.” Yugi huffed, crossing his own arms to mirror Joey’s position. “Come on, Joey, you’ve been wanting to get out of this museum forever, and a tomb hunt is perfect!”

One thing that Yugi had learned early on in this friendship was that Joey never did well staying in one place for long stretches of time. That’s why he jumped around jobs so often, and the fact that he had stayed at the museum this long was a wonder in itself. But still, Yugi could see how restless Joey was getting, and Yugi would be lying if he said he wasn’t getting just as restless. 

He loved the library, but Yugi wanted to do something more with his life. 

Joey hummed, then nodded. “We should at least check with Kaiba first to see if the map is legit before we go wanderin’ around Egypt.”

Yugi grinned. 

—

When Joey and Yugi walked into his office with the map to Anubis’ tomb, Seto’s heart sank. 

“Where did you get this?” He asked, looking it over with narrowed eyes. He had taken it from Yugi as soon as they got close enough for Seto to do so, and he was frustrated to see that it was still just as detailed as the day he first drew it. Seto cursed himself for even making it in the first place. “Was there anything else with it?”

Yugi opened his mouth to reply, but Joey beat him to it.

“No. Just the map.” 

Seto looked up at him. Joey stared back and cocked his hip and crossed his arms, and something in Seto’s heart clenched. For a moment he found himself looking at Heba and Jono, the prince consort and his guard, trying to convince him to come along on one of their ridiculous little journeys. 

“Seto, if this is real—“ Yugi spoke, and the image vanished.

“It’s not.” He cut Yugi off, and crinkled the map in his hand. It felt good to do it, and that feeling vastly overshadowed the tug of guilt when Yugi gasped and Joey shouted. “It’s just a toy that found itself in storage.” 

Yugi’s eyes went wide. “How do you know that? We know Anubis is real—!”

“But we don’t know that, Yugi.” Seto stood and shoved the map in his pocket. He was going to burn the damn thing. He should have burnt it years ago. “Sometimes, legends are just legends. And that’s all Anubis is. A legend someone mistook for history.” 

He walked out without another word, and hoped it was enough to put them off. 

He could hear Ishizu speaking to him from a conversation long ago, warning him that they would remember someday, but Seto ignored it. 

—

“Why didn’t you tell him about the puzzle box?” Yugi had been ranting about Seto taking the map from him for the entire time it took him and Joey to pack up and leave the museum. Joey had listened and, for once, didn’t offer any fuel to it. He just nodded along, putting the books back as Yugi perched on a table and all but cursed the museum curator out. 

Yugi had been so caught up in it that he hadn’t thought to ask about the box until they were out in the evening sunlight. 

“If someone came to you saying they found a map to a lost tomb, would you ask if anything else came with it?” Joey tilted his head in question as they weaved between a group of tourists. 

“No. I guess not.” Yugi frowned, reaching out a hand to hook into the back of Joey’s shirt so he didn’t lose him in the crowd. 

He could see Joey’s point—in all honesty he himself had forgotten about the box until now. 

“Exactly. Which means that that map was probably real, and this little box—“ Joey slipped the box out of his pocket with a grin, and Yugi watched in fascination as the sun bounced off it like it was glass. “—is important. 

Yugi blinked, taking in Joey’s words as he jogged to catch up to him. Then his frown tugged into a scowl, and while Yugi wasn’t normally a violent person, he felt a need to hit something. “And he— _ugh!_ ”

“Lucky for you, I know someone.” 

“You know someone who's been to the Lost Tomb of Anubis?” Yugi didn’t mean for it to come out as dry as it did. 

“Well, no.” Joey shoved the box back in his pocket and gave Yugi a smile. “But if anyone’s been there, it’s him. Yami’s gotten into all sorts of trouble since I left.” 

Then Joey halted in his tracks, and Yugi ran into him.

He had been so caught up in his ranting and frustration at Seto’s odd behavior that Yugi hadn’t even realized they had made their way to the courtyard of a public jail. Yugi stared in through the rusted bars, then looked up at Joey. 

Joey wasn’t looking at him, though. He was looking at someone just beyond the bars, and he grinned a moment later. 

“Hey, Yami!” Joey greeted a very haggard looking man instead. Yugi broke his gaze with Joey to look at the man, and he bit back a gasp when he saw him.

He was filthy, with tanned skin covered in dust and dried blood with his matted hair pulled back with a piece of twine. The state of his clothing wasn't much better--the shirt that he wore might have once been white, but now it matched the faded khakis he wore. Still, he was grinning, and he kicked back on the bench he was seated at, his earrings twinkling in the sunlight with the movement. 

“Joey.” The man nodded back. “What brings you around?”

“My friend and I—“ Joey gestured to Yugi. “—were wonderin’ if ya ever been to the Lost Tomb of Anubis.” 

Yami looked at Yugi, and when Yugi met his gaze he found himself unable to look away. His eyes were such an odd shade--Yugi was sure they must be brown, but with the way the light hit them they looked red. 

“What if I have?” Yami asked. He didn’t look away from Yugi. 

“We were hoping you could take us, since we lost our map.” Yugi answered. He swallowed, his grip on the cell bars tightening. He hadn’t even realized he had reached out to grab the bars, and as Yugi twisted his hand he could feel shards of rusted iron flake off. “Please?” 

Yami blinked, then he laughed. It was bright and loud and just sharp enough to sound wrong. “I knew Joey was crazy, but you—you’re too pretty to be crazy.” 

Yugi gave a nervous chuckle, and let go of the bars. 

“What do ya say, Yami?” Joey stepped closer, taking over the conversation. “ _You_ still crazy enough to go?”

Yami blinked, then shook his head and let out a softer laugh. “Sure. If you can get me out of here.” He glanced behind him, then looked back at Joey for a moment before letting his gaze fall back to Yugi. “I’m supposed to hang in the next ten minutes.” 

“What?!” Yugi and Joey yelled it at the same time, and Yami just grinned. 

“Why? What did you do?” Yugi continued. 

“Had too good of a time, I suppose.” Yami answered with a shrug. “People don’t enjoy games nearly as much as I do.” 

There was a commotion from inside the actual building a moment later, then a group of men came bursting out of the front doors--prison guards, no doubt. 

A few of them made a grab towards Yami. He tried to dodge, but being pressed up into a corner didn’t give him much room. Yami was thrown up against the bars, which rattled from the force of it, and he locked eyes with Yugi for a moment before throwing himself forward and kissing him.

Yugi gasped, and when Yami was pulled back he grinned. “You’re pretty enough to get me out, too.” 

Yugi watched as Yami was dragged off, then he rounded back on Joey. 

“Joey—!” 

Yugi refused to lose this chance. 

“I know, come on.” Joey grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the building. It opened up into a larger courtyard, surrounded by seats on all sides. It was not unlike a Roman coliseum, Yugi thought. 

Joey led them up to the top box, and as they navigated stairs and crowds Yugi looked down to the poorly constructed gallows in the middle of the building. It looked like it could collapse if it got hit by a strong gust of wind. 

Yami was being led to the noose dangling from the center of platform by several different men, and when Yugi blinked he found himself looking at long golden corridors that Yami was walking down instead of dust and wood, and in place of the executioner and the nose there was a man with long golden hair and himself, clutching his stomach as red bloomed around his hand. A blood stained knife lay between them.

Yugi blinked, and it was gone. 

“Joey! You bastard, what are you doing here?”

Yugi didn’t know the man Joey had brought them to, but Joey apparently did. 

“I need a favor, Keith.” Joey sat in the empty seat next to him, while Yugi stayed standing, watching with growing panic as Yami was shoved up the steps of the platform. “I need ya ta let Yami go.”

The man laughed. It was loud, and it set Yugi on edge. “Now why the hell would I do that, pretty boy?” 

Yugi watched with wide eyes as Yami was dragged up to the platform. Then he turned to Keith, and he really shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to see that he was American. “Please—I need him for a guide.”

“A guide to where?” Keith asked. He tilted his head, smiling slowly as he looked Yugi up and down. 

“The lost tomb of Anubis.” Yugi scowled, then turned back to look at Yami. One of the guards shoved his head down while another slipped the noose around his neck. They yanked his head up by the rope, and Yami grinned before smashing his head into the man in front of him. There was more shouting, and Yami gagged as he was yanked back by the noose. 

Yugi wasn’t sure if he had done it in a last ditch escape attempt or just for the hell of it.

Keith snorted out a laugh and looked back down to the center of the arena. “That’s just a fucking legend.”

“I’ll give you a hundred pounds to let him go.” Yugi blurted out. 

“I’d pay a hundred to see him hanged— _both_ of them hanged.” Keith shot a glare at Joey, who just offered up a shrug. 

“Two hundred!” Yugi shouted. 

Yugi could hear one of the men ask Yami if he had any last words, and when he looked back down Yami was grinning. There was blood on his teeth that hadn’t been there before, and he answered with a cheery _why don’t you come down me?_

“No amount of money is worth letting this fucker go, but—“ Keith reached out a hand to place on Joey’s knee, giving it a squeeze. “Well, you always were good with your mouth, pretty boy—“

“I ain’t fuckin’ ya.” Joey spat out and smacked his hand away. 

“You can have twenty percent of whatever we find at the tomb!” Yugi shouted, desperate at this point, but it was just a second too late. Someone pulled a lever, and the trap door on the platform dropped out from underneath Yami. He went plunging down, but by some miracle his neck didn’t snap. 

“Twenty five.” Keith said. 

“Ugh—Fine! Just cut him down!” 

Keith made a motion towards the guards down below, and someone cut Yami down. He fell into the dirt with a hard thud, and Yugi ran back down the stairs without a glance back. He heard Joey shout and clamber after him, but Yugi didn’t stop to wait for him. He ran fast enough down the stairs that he stumbled on the last few, jumping over the wall that surrounded the center of the arena.

Yugi fell to his knees when he reached Yami, crawling under the platform and pulling him into his lap as Yami gasped for air and yanked the noose off his neck. 

“I got you out of it.” Yugi was breathless, both from his run and the adrenaline still singing in his veins. 

Yami blinked, then choked out a laugh. “I guess I’m taking you to Anubis, then.”


	2. Chapter 2

“We’re going to Anubis’ tomb.”

Seto did not see Ishizu stop, but he did hear her soft footfalls silence and the faintest catch of her breath. He did not call her here, but it was no surprise that she came anyway. Ishizu was perhaps the only one besides Seto who stayed in Cairo for long stretches of time, and in all her wanderings of the city she was bound to notice something was wrong. 

“Someone found the map.” She did not ask it. “And you let them keep it?”

“No. I burned it.” Seto scowled, then turned to look at her. She looked back at him, still half hidden in the shadows of his office. “But that’s not going to stop them.” 

“May I ask who has found the map?” Ishizu stepped out into the faint light of the lamps, tilting her head just enough for the jewels of her circlet to catch the light and throw stars onto the walls. 

Seto stayed silent, but did not look away.

“Ah. I see.” Ishizu fell silent, then, “we knew this was going to happen—“

“Yes, but not like this.” Seto cut her off. He turned back around, crossing the room to his desk in long strides. Then he fell into the chair with the weight of years and years of regret he was carrying. “We can’t let this happen again, Ishizu. _I_ can’t let this happen again.” 

“Of course not, my priest.” Ishizu nodded, and something like pity flashed across her eyes. Seto ignored it. “I shall inform the others, then.” 

Seto nodded. 

It was an agreement just as much as it was a dismissal. 

—

“He’s going to come, right?”

“Course.” Joey set the suitcase he had been holding down. Then he put his hands on his hips and leaned back, his spine cracking and popping with the stretch. “Yami doesn’ go back on his word.”

Yugi looked down at his own bag, then back up at Joey. Joey had told him all about Yami Hassan last night after they had parted ways--Yugi and Joey back to their apartment and Yami to some undisclosed location. “How do you even know him?”

“Oh, we met a few years back—he was helpin’ me with a job I was doing for Keith.” Joey hummed. He very rarely talked about his time with Keith and the gang. In fact Yugi probably knew less about that than he did Yami. “He’s been in an’ out of Cairo since then. I usually run into him when he’s here—we chat, get a drink or two, ya know?”

Yugi did not know, but he nodded anyway.

Joey raised his hand a moment later and called out to the man in question, and Yugi turned around to see if he could spot Yami. He wasn’t tall enough to see over the crowds of people, so he wasn’t able to actually see Yami until he was standing right in front of them. 

Yugi had to take a moment to just look. 

He had cleaned up since yesterday. He had cut his hair shorter, but despite that it was still a messy sight and so wild that it spiked up every which way, looking almost like a deep purple when the sun hit it just right. His bangs were bleached, and either Yugi hadn’t noticed yesterday or it was new. There was a lot Yugi hadn’t noticed yesterday, it seemed, like the faint scars along Yami’s cheek, or the freckles on his nose, or the gold cuff on his ear, or the fact that he liked to keep his shirts unbuttoned just a notch too far—

“Yug?” Joey waved his hand in front of Yugi’s eyes. “You wit’ us?” 

Yugi shook his head. “Yeah, sorry.” 

Yami smirked and tilted his head. “Didn’t get enough sleep, crazy boy?” 

“That’s none of your business, Mr. Hassam.” Yugi picked you his bag and brushed past both Yami and Joey and walked up the plank and onto the boat. He could hear Joey snort out a laugh and Yami make a confused little noise, but Yugi ignored it. 

Yugi bumped into someone just as he got on the ship, and Yugi’s mood sunk further when he saw who it was. “What the hell are you doing here, Keith?”

“I’m here to protect my investment.” Keith answered with a grin. “I can’t exactly trust Wheeler and Hassam with these things, ya know?” 

Yugi scowled, but before he could actually say anything to the man someone else bumped into his back and started talking. 

“Keith! Lovely to see you!” Yami put a hand on Yugi’s shoulder and gently pulled him back. His hold on Yugi’s shoulder, however, was far from gentle. “You're not going to cause any problems, are you?” 

“Of course not.” Keith's smile was just as large and fake as Yami's was. “Hell, I won’t even be traveling with you, Hassam. I got someone else to take me.” 

“Who—“ Yami blinked, then scowled. “Noa.”

Keith laughed, then sauntered off. 

Yugi blinked slowly before turning to look at Yami. He wondered, briefly, why he knew exactly who it was that would be accompanying Keith, but then thought better of it. “You know far too many shady characters.”

Yami laughed something light and ringing and completely startled out of him. “Perhaps, but you’re racking up quite the collection yourself.” 

Yugi frowned, but found that he couldn’t disagree. 

“Come on, ya two, keep movin’.” Joey came up behind them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders and gently pushing them forward. 

They passed by Keith again, who was standing next to a man who had a bright shock of green hair and looked to be just as tall as Seto was. Yami and the man stared at each other for a moment before the man grinned, and when Joey caught sight of the two he faltered for only a second before hurrying them to their cabin. 

Joey rushed them inside, then slammed the door closed and leaned heavily back on it. “Wha’ the _fuck_ are thoes two doin’ here?” 

“Keith is here to ‘protect his investment’,” Yami completed it with air quotes as he walked across the little cabin to the cots. There were three of them and not much else inside the little cabin, and while Yugi wouldn’t mind sleeping on them, Joey would have some difficulty with the size. “But Noa, I have no idea. Honestly, I thought he died. He was with me when I first went to the tomb and I left him behind.” 

Yami didn’t sound remorseful about it. 

“Oh.” Joey’s voice jumped up about half an octave. “That’s nice.” 

“Who’s Noa?” Yugi asked. He doubted he was going to get much of an answer beyond the one Yami had already given--Joey rarely gave them and Yami seemed like the type to never give them--but there wasn’t any harm in asking anyway. 

Yami dropped his bag on the cot in the far corner. “Someone I used to work with.”

Yugi forowned. “And...?”

“I’m not sure you want to know more, crazy boy.” Yami grinned, and Yugi had a distinct urge to smack it off. 

“Fine, but if he kills me then that’s on you.” Yugi pointed at Yami, briefly glanced at Joey--who still hadn’t moved from the door, then stalked across the room to take the cot in the middle. Yami looked delighted when Yugi put his suitcase down, but Yugi didn’t give him a look back. 

“This isn’t goin’ ta end well for us, is it?” Joey mumbled. 

“When do things ever end well for us?” Yami crossed the room to clap a hand on Joey’s shoulder. 

All three of them started at a pleasant knock on the door. 

Joey launched himself across the room to stand by Yugi, and Yugi gave him a few reassuring pats on his arm before walking over to the spot Joey had just left. There was a tense moment of silence, then Yami opened the door. 

“Noa.” He greeted. 

“Yami, how nice to see you again.” Noa smiled, tilting his head as he peered into the room. He was far taller up close. “And Joey, it’s wonderful to see you back on your feet.”

Joey scowled, stalking over to place himself between Noa and Yugi and Yami. Any and all visible signs of his previous fear were long gone. Now he just looked like he was walking the thin line of irratation and anger. “The hell do ya want?”

“I just wanted to say hi, Joey. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you two.” Noa sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as he did so. Then he opened them again, and when he looked at Yugi his smile fell. 

“You must be Yugi Moto.” His voice had lost the cheeriness it had held, and while Yugi thought he should be afraid he wasn’t. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Yami put a hand on Yugi’s shoulder and gently pushed him back. 

Noa’s eyes flicked back to Yami. “You’re still just as protective as ever, I see.” 

He said it so quietly that Yugi almost didn’t catch it. 

“Didn’t you die?” Yami asked, either not hearing Noa or just ignoring him. Although, if Yugi had been asked he would have said that it was the latter. 

“Unfortunately, no.” Noa’s smile was back. “Certainly not for a lack of trying on your part.” 

Yami’s grin, Yugi thought, would have looked less frightening if there were blood on his teeth. “Should have run faster then.” 

Noa’s smile didn’t once faulter. 

“Alrigh’, ya said your hellos,” Joey cut in, pushing Yami back behind him and wrapping his fingers around the door handle. “Now get the fuck out.” 

Joey slammed the door. 

Yugi jumped back at the loud noise. 

There was a moment of silence as the last of the ringing echo faded, and when Joey looked back at them his eyes were wide and his fingers slid off the door handle. They hit the wood of the door with a soft thud. “Did I jus’...did I jus’ do that?”

“You did.” Yami grinned. “It was quite impressive.”

Joey groaned. 

\--

_“Are you nervous?”_

_“No.” He said it quickly, stomach flipping with the blatant lie. “Yes.”_

_Joey--and Yugi knew this was not his Joey, but he didn’t not have any other name for him--grinned. He looked strange. His eyes were lined in kohl, a delicate collar of red and brown beads rested on his neck and shoulders, and the fine linen he wore was so white that it nearly hurt to look at in the sunlight flooding the balcony they stood on._

_Joey looked strange, Yugi realized, because Joey very rarely wore the more elaborate ceremonial clothing he owned. He had no reason to--yes, he was Yugi’s personal guard, but he certainly didn’t have to dress like the rest of Pharaoh’s court._

_Yugi did not know why he knew this._

_“You’re going to be fine,” Joey spoke softly, squeezing Yugi’s shoulder gently. “You’re already married, so it’s not like Atem can say no. This is just a...a confirmation for the people. And an excuse to get dressed up and break out the wine.”_

_Yugi frowned._

_His own collar bore down heavy on his shoulders, and he knew it was not just because that his was gold._

_Joey was right, he supposed. He and Atem had been considered married from the moment Yugi stepped foot in the palace after Atem officially announced the courtship, but...well, he could still be nervous for the ceremony. Yugi was not a royal, and even if he had been he wouldn’t have been anywhere near close enough to the Pharaoh’s status._

_“Atem loves you,” Joey said, but before he could speak any more the curtains leading to the balcony were pulled open._

_The man who stepped out had a smile on his lips that made Yugi’s blood freeze._

_“You look lovely,” he said._

Yugi woke with a gasp, bolting up and grasping at his heart that was pounding like a hammer in his chest. 

He did not know why he was so frightened. 

“You alright, crazy boy?”

Yugi blinked slowly. Yami was sitting right in front of him with a small frown tugging at his lips, and Yugi blinked once more before shoving him back.

“I’m fine, just--just a weird dream.” Yugi remembered seeing red and brown beads and gold around his wrists, and nothing more. He looked to the one little window they had in the cabin, surprised to find that it was dark out. “When did I fall asleep?” 

“A few hours ago.” Yami slid off of Yugi’s cot and back onto his own, and Yugi wondered if he had stayed in the room with him. He must have, if Yami’s own rumpled state was anything to go by, and Yugi’s stomach did an odd little swoop at the thought. “Joey said you hadn’t been sleeping well, so we just let you be.” 

Yugi remembered that he had been going through the books he had brought and filling in the gaps for Joey and Yami on The Lost Tomb of Anubis, as well as any gaps in his own knowledge, but he did not remember falling asleep. 

“Oh.” 

“Don’t feel bad about it,” Yami spoke softly and smiled just a bit too fondly. “You look like you needed it.” 

Yugi felt a smile tug at his own lips, then he cleared his throat and looked down. His cheeks were getting far too warm and the low lamplight was making Yami’s skin look darker and his jaw sharper. “Where did Joey go?” 

“On a walk around the boat,” Yami answered with a frown. “We should probably go find him--” 

The door to the cabin flew open, but it was not Joey who had opened it. 

“My Pharaoh--!” the man who had opened the door was shrouded in dark robes, and while Yugi could not see the surprise on the man’s face he could hear it in his voice. The man took a step back, but recovered just as quickly, stepping forward again and then taking another step to make up for the one he had lost. “Where is the key?”

Yami threw himself in front of Yugi as the man took another step closer.

The man jerked forward as a sharp gunshot rang out, and there Joey was, grabbing the man by the back of his robes and hauling him out of the doorway. 

“Did you just kill him!?” Yugi shrieked.

“No I did not--is tha’ really wha’ you’re concerned about?” Joey swept into the room, tossing the pistol he was holding at Yami while drawing another one from his belt. “We gotta go, come on.” 

Before Yugi could protest Joey was taking hold of his wrist and pulling him back out the door with Yami trailing behind them. For a moment Yugi could see the beads and the kohl on Joey again, and when he blinked they were gone. 

Outside of the little cabin, chaos had erupted. 

The boat was swarming with these strangers in black. Keith and his group were making a grand old time of it, but everyone else was either jumping overboard or running back to their own cabins. Yugi didn’t see Noa anywhere, but he had no doubt that he was still scurrying around somewhere. 

These strangers, however, only seemed to be going after Keith, and Yugi had a sinking thought that this had something to do with the tomb. 

“We’re goin’ overboard.” Joey had swept Yugi up, tipping him dangerously far over the rails. “I ain’t sticking around to see how this ends up.”

“No, Joey, wait--!” 

Joey threw him into the Nile just as more gunshots exploded behind him. 

\--

“Did you get the key?” 

“No.” Odion didn’t look at Seto. “Jono is still very good at his job, I’m afraid.” 

Seto tore his eyes away from the sinking boat to look at the man. His shoulder was wet with something that gleamed in the moonlight--blood, no doubt. He found himself torn between frustration and a strange pride that Joey still remembered things of his past life, however unconsciously. 

“We have bigger issues, I’m afraid.” 

Seto’s heart rate spiked as Ishizu’s voice sounded from his other side. He did not hear her come up to him.

“The Pharaoh is with them.” she said. “As is Noa. He is leading the others to Anubis’ tomb.” 

Seto bit back a curse. 

“Are you sure?” he asked.

He had told Odion and the others to leave everyone alive, to get the key from Yugi and only frighten them enough to send them back to Cairo. If he had known Noa was on board, that would have been different. 

“I saw the Pharaoh with my own eyes, my priest.” Odion spoke this time. “Although I cannot speak for Noa.” 

Seto did not doubt Ishizu’s words. 

He took in a deep breath. “How urgently do you need medical attention, Odion?”

“It is nothing I can not take care of myself.” Odion gave Seto a tight smile. “I will be able to accompany you to the tomb.” 

Seto wanted to tell Odion to go back to the village anyway, but he knew that they would need him once they reached the tomb. “Only if you’re certain.”

Odion nodded. 

Seto should have known that Yugi held the key. Things like that did not just disappear, no matter how much Seto wished they would, and so his own hope that the key was still lost had clouded his better judgment and he had let Yugi and Joey walk away, leading them to this. 

“We follow them to the tomb, then.” Seto said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I looked up ancient Egyptian marriage laws for this


	3. Chapter 3

Joey could speak the Arabic dialect of Cairo just fine. 

He had grown up on it’s streets, so his bilingual status in both English and Arabic was more of a necessity to his survival than anything else. He was nearly fluent in Japanese as well, although that had been more for Yugi’s benefit, and he knew bits and pieces of many other languages that floated around Egypt’s capital. And so while Joey did speak Arabic fluently, the dialects and regional differences outside of Cairo tended to elude him. 

Yugi knew Ancient Egyptian incredibly well, but he struggled with modernen Arabic on the best of days. He was not as adept in languages as Joey was, so he wasn’t much help as his friend tried to barter a few camels from a small roadside shop. 

A shop that was much more of a temporary camp for the group of travelers they had stumbled upon.

Yami, however, was incredibly proficient in many of the Arabic dialects—Yugi only knew this because he went with Yami to go get a change of clothes and some food—but he had chosen to stay out of it and watch from the sidelines with a grin. 

Yugi must have been glaring hard enough, because a few moments later Yami slid up and smoothly took over the conversation for Joey. 

“I forgot,” Joey said slowly. “How much of a dick he is.” 

Yugi snorted out a laugh. 

The conversation ended a few seconds later, and Yami wandered back to the two of them with a quieter smile than the one he had been wearing. It softened his edges--his jaw wasn’t as sharp, his eyes fell in a softer crinkle. It made him look...well, Yugi didn’t want to say kinder, because Yami _was_ a kind person. He could be kind, might be the better thing. 

It made him look more open, Yugi supposed. 

“Three camels.” Yami announced. “We should be at the tomb by sunrise tomorrow.” 

“Great! I'm going to go change then.” Yugi gave him his own smile, one that was far less guienine than Yami’s, and snatched the bundle of clothing Yami was still holding and marched off to the tent one of the women had offered for them to use. He was still soaking wet despite the desert heat, and Yugi was quick to rip off the warm and damp shirt as soon as the tent flap fell shut.

Yugi was not the strongest swimmer. Joey was well aware of that--he had tried to teach Yugi to swim a few times, but it never seemed to stick--so he had thrown Yami in right after him. Yami had taken hold of Yugi and hauled them to the shore just as Joey had jumped in after them, narrowly missing outstretched hands as they tried to pull the blond back on board. All three of them stumbled onto shore as the boat erupted into flame. It did not take long to sink after than, and as Yugi had been coughing up river water he had heard more splashing and yelling, and then a faint taunt of _looks like I have all the horses, Yami!_

Yami has sat up, still keeping a hand on Yugi’s shoulder as he violently expelled the water that had leaked into his lungs, and screamed back _you’re also on the wrong side of the river, Noa!_

Joey had cackled at that, then dissolved into his own coughing fit as he hacked up the water he had swallowed. 

Yugi huffed and pulled on the shirt he had been given. It was a black linen button up—different from his usual white cotton, but the fabric alone would help to keep the heat out better than the cotton ever did. He slipped into the pair of trousers that had been folded up in the shirt. It felt nice just to be dry, and Yugi took a moment to enjoy the feeling before tying his hair back and stepping back out of the tent. 

Yami and Joey were heading to collect the camels and were entirely lost in conversation. Yugi watched them for a moment, taking in the easy way that they interacted with each other, then started their way. 

When he got close enough they both stopped to wait for him to catch up, and Yami blinked owlishly and stared until Joey smacked him.

“Let’s get goin’,” Joey marched over to the camels, leaving Yami behind with Yugi.

“You, uh,” Yami cleared his throat and looked down at his shoes. “You look good in black.”

Yugi blinked and felt his face flush. Yami spun on his heel and walked off before Yugi could say anything, and he watched him go for a moment with wide eyes before following after.

Joey had stopped to wait for him while Yami marched on, and at Yugi’s quizzical look and nod towards Yami Joey only offered a shrug and a boost to help Yugi up on the camel. 

—

_“Set, I’ll be fine, I promise.” Yugi was already halfway out the door, his hand clutching the sandstone doorway and his foot already out in the sunlight. It felt good--the warmth of the sunlight was a pleasant contrast to the drafts and cool corners of the palace. “I’m just going to the pool.”_

_“Yes, but—“ Set—but this was Seto, Yugi thought—sighed._

_“If you’re really that worried, come with me.” Yugi said it with a quick jerk of his head, trying to lure Set to come out to the pool with him._

_Set scowled, but it was not angry. The high priest never truly got angry with Yugi. “I’m not your guard.”_

_“No, but you’re worrying like a hen.” Yugi grinned. “Just come with me. The fresh air will do you good. And the lotus are blooming—you love the lotus.” Yugi paused. It had not occurred to him why Set wouldn’t want to come with him until now. “Unless you were going to visit Jono?”_

_Jono was usually attached to Yugi’s hip—he was his guard, he had to be—but with his sister so ill Yugi had told him to go see her and his family. He would be perfectly safe in the palace walls, and even with Jono gone he still had at least one guard shadowing him._

_Set’s scowl turned to a frown, and while he looked like he was going to argue some more he still followed after Yugi._

_“You will be the death of me, Heba.” Set grumbled._

_Yugi smiled, waiting for Set to catch up so he could loop their arms together. Set let him get away with it until they reached the pool before pulling back. Yugi took no offense to it—Set had never been a touchy person._

_The river had flooded well this year. The ponds and marshes were still deep, and the part of the Nile that flowed by the palace had reached the stone steps of the covered pool._

_It was an attachment that Atem had added to the palace after he and Yugi had married, and the only one granted unrestricted access to it was Yugi himself. The Nile already flowed close to the palace, and Atem just built around it, creating the little cove with what was already there. Alabaster pillars painted with reeds and flowers held up the sheer curtains that kept the little pool secluded from the rest of the outside world, and the lotus flowers that drifted through the water came closer to the stone steps._

_Yugi took a seat on one of the steps, pulling up his skirts to dip his legs in. Set settled next to him, tucking his own legs underneath him._

_Yugi trailed his fingers in the water for a moment, then scooped out a lotus that had drifted too close and worked the stem into the linen tie that was keeping Set’s hair back._

_“What—?” Set sputtered and Yugi laughed._

_“For Jono, when you visit him tonight.” Yugi explained. The blue of the petals brought out shades of blue in Set’s eyes that Yugi didn’t even know he had. “I’m sure he’d love the look of it.”_

_Set scowled, but his cheeks flushed and he didn’t make a move to take the flower out. Yugi smiled, then reached back into the water to gather more of the flowers as they got close enough to him._

_“Ah, my priest, there you are.”_

_Yugi startled, then tensed at the voice. His fingers tightened on the stem he held and snapped it. The lotus flower fell back into the water with a quiet splash, drifting back to the larger body of the Nile._

_“And Yugi. I should have known you would be with Set, what with your guard gone.” the voice had gotten closer._

_“Anubis.” Set stood abruptly, marching back up the stairs. He made no move to hide his anger at the intrusion. “You are not supposed to be here without the prince’s permission.”_

_“Yes—but I needed to speak with you—“_

_“Then speak with me outside.”_

_Yugi could hear a quiet little scuffle before the footsteps started to fade. He didn’t dare move until he couldn’t hear the footsteps anymore, and when he looked back up he woke._

Yugi snapped his eyes open, then jolted up. At some point his camel had drifted close enough to Yami’s that he had dropped his head onto Yami’s shoulder, and as Yugi shot up his head bashed on the underside of Yami’s jaw. The two camels groaned and jerked back while Yami yelped and shot a hand out to cradle his jaw. 

Yugi looked wildly around before he calmed enough to register his surroundings. 

Desert. Egypt. With Joey and Yami, not…

Not him. 

“Sorry, I—“ Yugi blinked until his vision had adjusted and the lotus flowers faded. Night had fallen, the only light coming from the moon and the stars. Still, Yugi could already see a bruise forming on Yami’s cheek. He winced, and offered a quiet apology. “Sorry.” 

Yami rubbed his jaw and cracked his neck, and instead of tossing a joke or throwing a flirty comment he softly asked, “Nightmare?” 

Yugi nodded. 

“What about?” It was not a prying question. Yami had said it in such a way that Yugi didn’t have to answer it, but as he looked at him Yugi thought that he wanted to answer it anyway. 

“I don’t—“ Yugi frowned. He remembered lotus flowers. He remembered cool water. He remembered a racing heart and a fear rooted so, _so_ deep in his chest that it had hurt. It still hurt, and Yugi absentmindedly reached a hand out to rub the skin just above his heart. “...I don’t know. I don’t remember.” 

Yami nodded.

He stayed silent for a while. 

Yami’s silence was long enough for Yugi to see Joey just a few feet ahead of them, very much awake and talking softly to the camel and glancing up at the stars. It was long enough for Yugi to quell his racing heart and even his breathing, but it was hardly long enough to stop his shaking hands.

There never seemed to be enough time for that. 

“Do you know any constellations?” Yami suddenly asked. 

Yugi shook his head. 

His expertise lies in history and the dirt. Not up in the sky. 

“That’s Orion, right there—“ Yami pointed up at the stars. Yugi learned closer—close enough that his head was reading against Yami’s shoulder. He hadn’t realized the camels had gotten close again, but Yami was warm and smelled of sandalwood and the night air and safety. So Yugi didn’t back away. “And there’s Leo.”

He pointed to a few others, and Yugi followed his direction to each one. 

“And that—“ Yami paused. He tilted his head, lowering his hand until it rested against the small of Yugi’s back. They both didn’ tseem to notice the touch. “Sobek is supposed to be there...but I... he’s left, now.”

It took a moment for Yugi to recognize the word. 

Sobek. The crocodile. 

“You know ancient Egyptian constellations?” Yugi only knew a few himself from paintings he had seen in temple walls and textbooks, but not their names. Not their proper names, at least. Those had been lost long ago to time and sand and forgetfulness.

Yami looked sad--his eyes had clouded over and his lips had fallen into a graceful frown. But then he blinked, and whatever had come over him left. “No. I—I don’t know how I knew that.” Then he shook his head and gave Yugi a bright smile. “But I pick up at a lot of things.” 

Yugi smiled softly in return. 

His hands were no longer shaking. 

—

“It’s good to see you back in the village, my priest.” 

“Mahad.” Seto greeted. It was odd being back in the village--comforting in it’s familiarity, but unsettling in it’s seclusion. Still, Set pushed those feelings aside, shaking his head slightly and tightening his hold on Odion. “Odion needs medical attention—“

While the bullet wound had been to his shoulder and not terribly serious, the journey to the village had worsened it. Seto had bore half of Odion’s weight for the last leg of the journey. Now he held all of it, keeping hold of the man and letting the blood soak through Odions clothing and into his own. 

“Yes, of course.” Mahad nodded. He reached forward to take Odion’s weight from Seto, placing a firm hand in the small of Odion’s back.

Odion grunted from the movement, then sunk into Mahad with a quiet sigh.

“Are you injured as well?”

Seto shook his head. “No, this is--it’s Odion’s blood. Not mine.” 

Mahad was silent for a moment before speaking softly. “Injured or not, I would feel better if Mana still saw you, my priest.” 

Seto swallowed back a smile. “I’ll see her after she treats Odion.” 

“Thank you,” Mahad did not hold back his smile, and Seto could no longer hold back his own. Mahad did not smile often, and when he did it was delightful and contagious. “Mokuba is with Kisara, if you wish to see him. They’re collecting lotus blooms, I believe.” 

Seto offered up his own thanks, but it was only after Odion assured him that he would be alright did Seto leave. 

He found Mokuba and Kisara just at the edge of the village, wading into the Nile. They both had their hair tied back, and where Kisara had tied her dress up as well to keep it from getting wet, Mokuba had waded in with no regard for his clothing. A basket sat close to them on the shore, nearly full. 

Kisara caught sight of him first, and she offered Seto a smile and a wave before looking back at Mokuba. She said something softly to him, and then Mokuba was whipping around and climbing out of the river with determination and a smile. 

“Seto!”

Mokuba crashed into him, knocking him back into the sand.

Seto could hear Kisara laughing, but he paid it no mind. Instead he held Mokuba close, kissing the top of his head while Mokuba threw his arms around Seto in a hug that stole his breath. 

He had stumbled upon Mokuba years ago in Cairo, when he had been nothing more than a baby left behind in a forgotten alley. Seto hadn’t thought twice about picking him up and taking him back to the village. No one had put up a fight--they had taken Mokuba in with no questions asked, cared for him when Seto could not, and loved him just as quickly and fiercely as Seto had. 

Seto gave Mokuba a tight squeeze, then pulled back. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

It was late--so late that the stars were starting to leave the sky.

Mokuba blinked, then flushed. “I was helping Kisara.” 

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be in bed.” Seto countered. 

“Your brother is right, Mokuba.” Kisara came to stand next to them, her basket tucked closely to her hip. She offered a smile to them both, then knelt down and set the basket aside. “Thank you for helping me, but now you need to get more rest.”

Mokuba pouted. “Yeah, but--”

“No buts.” Seto cut in. “You need sleep.”

“Seto will still be here when the sun rises.” Kisara reached forward and ruffled Mokuba’s hair. “And if he tries to leave I’ll drag him back myself.” 

“Okay,” Mokuba nodded, then squeezed Seto in another hug. “I’m glad you’re back, big brother.”

Seto hugged him back, ruffling his hair before letting him go. He watched Mokuba head back up to the village, only looking back at Kisara when Mokuba ducked inside the house.

“You have been gone a long time,” Kisara blinked slowly, looking away from him to shift a few of the lotus blooms around.

Seto remembered having one in his hair a very long time ago. He remembered Jono’s delight in seeing it, how he had gently run his fingers along the petals and kissed Seto while telling him how beautiful the flower looked in his hair. He remembered taking the flower out, pressing into Jono’s hand, telling him to keep it. 

“I found Jono.” Seto said quietly. 

Kisara looked back up at him. “That’s a good reason to be away.” 

“He doesn’t remember,” Seto continued.

“But he’s starting to, isn’t he?” Kisara gently placed her hand on Seto’s shoulder, reaching her other hand up to brush his hair away from his eyes. “That’s why you came back.” 

Seto nodded, and Kisara frowned.

“Then they are going to the tomb.” She did not ask this. 

“Yes.” Seto took in a deep breath. “All three of them.”

Kisara froze for a moment, her eyes wide. Then she pulled back, bracing herself on her heels. She picked up the basket as she stood, and Seto watched a lotus flower tumble from the top and fall into the sand.

“Well, we had best hope that some curses are just words.” she said. 

Seto watched her walk away, then gently picked up the lotus and held it to his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> I do have this all planned out, it's just a matter of me sitting down and writing it. And since I have nothing left to live for, I should finish this pretty quickly.


End file.
